


Restless

by CelestialCelly



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Anxiety, Brotherly Love, Could be Gladnis if you wanted it to be, Crying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Or platonic, Post-Altissia (Final Fantasy XV), Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25064371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialCelly/pseuds/CelestialCelly
Summary: Gladio woke up to a rough kick to his leg. But when he looked at the only other person in the room, sleeping next to him, he realised that Ignis didn't just have a random spasm in his sleep. The blind man was having a nightmare.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46
Collections: FFXV Brotherly Love Week





	Restless

Gladio jolted upright after a sudden kick to his thigh startled him awake. His great-sword flashing to hand instinctively as he roamed his eyes around the room in search for his attacker.

His darting gaze slowed when his mind eventually caught up with him. Realising that all that was there was the dresser, a lounge chair with Gladio’s leather jacket and Ignis’s purple shirt resting neatly over it, a tall mirror resting against the hotel-room wall and of course, the bed that Gladio was resting on. With a sigh, the shield dismissed his sword and assumed that the kick he felt was just his sleepy mind playing tricks on him, sliding to lay back down on his side of the bed and letting his eyes drift back shut.

At least until he felt another, more forceful kick to his thigh that was _definitely_ going to leave a bruise.

Thats when Gladio remembered he wasn’t alone and turned to face the other side of the bed, where his blind, but unconscious comrade laid. The large man couldn’t help but frown when he noticed how heavily and rapidly Ignis was breathing in his sleep. His head thrashing left and right while he fought off whatever daemon was haunting his dreams. Scarred hands buried into the sheets and his legs trembled under the warm blanket. Gladio felt his heart twist horribly when he saw the tears dripping down Ignis’s marred face and onto his pillow. It wasn’t fair. The man had already lost so much. At least he would still be able to see in his dreams. But even then - they were nightmares terrifying enough to send the man into a restless fit in his sleep.

He couldn’t bear to watch his comrade struggle any longer and placed a gentle hand on Ignis’s shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. “Iggy, wake up.” Gladio quietly rumbled, so not to disturb the other two men that slept in the room next door.

To the shields surprise, the normally feather-light sleeper did not rouse from his slumber. “Ignis,” Gladio tried again, but with a bit more volume. “Its just a dream, Iggy. Come on, you gotta wake up.” He shook the man a little bit more insistently.

Ignis bolted upright with a gasped cry of Noctis’s name. His right eye flashed open and immediately started scanning around the room, seemingly looking for something that his unseeing eyes would never find. His chest was heaving with every panted breath, and only grew sharper when he realised that everything was dark.

Gladio leant a hand out and tried to grasp Ignis’s. Only for the blind man to shake him off with a startle. “Iggy, its me.” He tried to sooth, his large hand coming closer to the shaking man’s again before holding it. “Its okay, Noct’s okay.”.

This time, the shaky man didn’t push Gladio away, his shoulders loosening a little upon hearing the familiar voice. Although, his cloudy eye continue to aimlessly roam around the room, in seek of _anything_. “Where… Where are you? I can’t… I can’t see you anywhere!” The panic was clear in the normally composed man’s voice, and for a moment, the large man was lost as to what he could do to calm him down.

“Iggy,” He tried again gently, gripping his hand tighter and running his thumb over Ignis’s knuckles as he instinctively brought his other arm around to wrap Ignis’s shoulder in a loose embrace. “I’m right next to you. We’re at the Leville in Altissia. Can you close your eyes for me and take a few deep breaths? It’ll make you feel better.”. The older man started demonstrating each inhale and exhale, trying to get Ignis to follow his lead.

Gladio couldn’t help but note how Ignis’s grip tightened as he closed his eyes, with no intention of letting him go anytime soon. However, he did try to slow his breathing down, eventually matching his breaths to be in the same beat as his comrade’s. All while, the large man wore a frown, intentionally keeping his gaze averted from the harsh scarring on Ignis’s face.

The two sat together in silence for some time. Their rhythmic breathing the only sound that filled the empty space of the room. They both waited until Ignis broke the silence. “I… Thank you, Gladio.” His accented words heavy in the air. “I don’t know what came over me.”.

“Are you okay?”

Ignis opened and closed his mouth, contemplating his choice of words. “In time, yes. I’m just… unfamiliar.” He sighed, slipping his hands out of the larger man’s grip and pressing his palms against his eyes in defeat. Only to yank them away the moment he touched the still-raw flesh around his left eye.

Gladio couldn’t tell if the cry the blind man let out was one of pain or frustration. Perhaps it was a mix of both, as his hands curled into fists, and slammed down to land in his lap. Gladio quickly grabbed hold of his shoulders again in reassurance. “Iggy, you gotta take it easy. This’ll take some time for you to heal.”.

Something in the injured man snapped at this. “I don’t have time! _Noctis_ doesn’t have time! I need to find a way to fix this, _now!”._

Gladio flinched back at his sudden outburst. “Fix what?” _Was there something Ignis knew that he didn’t?_

It was Ignis’s turn to pull back now. Suddenly, all of his self-loathing was gone and replaced by something even more worrisome. _Dread._ Clearly he had said something that he shouldn’t have.

Ignis’s face paled.

“Ignis?” Gladio gently pushed when he didn’t respond. “Whats wrong?”.

“I… I failed him, Gladio.” Ignis slumped his shoulders. His voice barely above a whisper. This wasn’t like the advisor the Shield knew at all. He looked so lost, so vulnerable. “I couldn’t protect him. Its the only thing I had to do and I… I couldn’t do it.”.

The Shield placed a hand on Ignis’s arm, “What are you talking about? You did everything you could, and you kept him alive. Thats what matters most, Iggy.”

The strategist shook his head in disagreement. “No. You don’t understand… I… When I was on the altar, I saw something.”.

Gladio paused to let him speak. But when the injured man said nothing, he nudged him to keep going. “What did you see?”.

Ignis released a shaky breath. His shoulders shook lightly as he fought to hold back tears. “I… Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.” He couldn’t quite hold back the crack in his voice on the last word.

The large man pursed his lips, but didn’t press him to speak any further, knowing that it would only do more harm than good to the man. Now wasn’t the time for that, anyway. Instead, he simply wrapped his arms around Ignis, and pulled him close to his chest. “Whatever it is you’re going through, we can get you through this. The Ignis I know is stubborn and wouldn’t give up this easily. Can you do that for me?”.

The blind man said nothing, only nodding as he finally let the bottled up tears flow freely onto the other man’s chest as he silently wept until he had nothing left to shed.


End file.
